1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to an LCD device having an improved inverter cover structure.
2. Background of the Related Art
Recently, liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred to as “LCD”) devices have attracted considerable attention because the LCD devices are capable of displaying high quality picture images. Also, with the improvement of liquid crystal and minute pixel processing technology, the LCD devices are made with the advantage of thin profiles, light weights, and low power consumption. Moreover, the application fields of the LCD device have been greatly expanded.
In general, the LCD device mainly includes a liquid crystal module that includes an LCD panel having lower and upper glass substrates and a liquid crystal material injected between the lower and upper glass substrates. The liquid crystal panel also includes lower and upper polarizing plates for polarizing light on the lower and upper surfaces, and a backlight unit having a light guide plate and a light source for providing light to the LCD panel. The liquid crystal module displays a video signal input from an external source. Also, the LCD device includes a driving part for driving the liquid crystal module and a system case.
An LCD device will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating a liquid crystal module 10 according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal module 10 includes an LCD panel 11 and a backlight unit 12. The LCD panel 11 and the backlight unit 12 are supported by a main support 13 and a top case 20. The main support 13 is made of a plastic material, and the top case 20 is made of a metal material. The LCD panel 11 is provided with an upper polarizing plate 11a and a lower polarizing plate 11b. The backlight unit 12 includes a reflecting plate 12a, a light guiding plate 12b, a first diffusion or protective sheet 12c, a first prism sheet 12d, a second prism sheet 12e, and a second diffusion or protective sheet 12f, which are sequentially formed on the main support 13. The top case 20 is connected to the upper side of the LCD panel 11. The backlight unit 12 is supported by the support main 13. Moreover, a cover bottom 14 is provided below the main support 13 to firmly support the main support 13 and to radiate heat generated from a light source.
FIG. 2 is a plane view schematically illustrating an inverter cover that is fixed to the related art LCD module. Since the LCD panel 11 does not emit light, a light source such as a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) (not shown) is provided in the backlight unit 12 to uniformly emit light toward a display area of the LCD panel 11. As shown in FIG. 2, since an alternating current is used as an electric energy for driving the CCFL, an inverter 15, which converts an electric energy of a direct current supplied from an external power source into an alternating current, is received by an inverter cover 16. The inverter cover 16 having the inverter 15 is provided on a rear surface of the cover bottom 14.
However, such an inverter cover structure of the related art LCD module has the following problems. Referring to FIG. 2, the inverter cover 16 is fastened to the cover bottom 14 by screws 17 and also is attached to the cover bottom 14 by a double sided tape 18. Since this fitting manner using a screw and/or a double sided tape is complicated and requires much manual work, the productivity is decreased and the costs are increased. Also, since the inverter cover 16 is attached to the cover bottom 14 by the double sided tape 18, it is not easy to detach the inverter cover 16 from the cover bottom 14 in the event that the inverter cover 16 needs to be detached from the cover bottom 14 for testing. Moreover, the inverter cover 16 may be damaged when the inverter cover 16 is detached from the cover bottom 14.